Packer for solid refrigerants



Aug. 29, 1939.

H. s. Houcal-ITON- I PACKER FOR SOLID REFRIGERANTS Filed March 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 TTORNEYS;

Aug. 29, 1939. H. s. HOUGHTON PACKER FOR SOLID REFRIGERANTS Filed March 9, 1938 5 Shees-Shee'cl 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS:

Aug 29, 1,939. H. s.- HoUGHToN PACKER FOR SOLID REFRIGER-ANTS Filed March 9, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Aug. 29, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKER FOR. SOLID REFRIGERANTS ApplicatonMarch 9, 1938, Serial No. 194,825

9 Claims.

This application pertains to packaging solid refrigerant material, and pertains more particularly to means for packing or packaging solid carbon dioxide or dry ice.

One of the` important objects of the invention is to provide a dry ice packer which will preserve the contents against undue loss by evaporation and at the same time protect the contents against breakage due to rough handling.

Another object of the invention is to provide a light-Weight packer having the desired heat insulating and protecting characteristics, thereby `effecting a material reduction in cost of shipment of the package-the packer and its contents and also in the cost of returning the empty packer.

It has been customary to pack dry ice in rectangular boxes constructed of steel, lined with cork, usually weighing about one-half to onethird of the net contents. Corrugated ber board cartone have also been used, but these have been found less efficient in preventing loss of the contents during shipment, and are less durable in use; furthermore, they do not take a lower return express rate unless folded, and folding them "for return shipping purposes materially decrease-s their length of life. The form of packer herein described is comparable in weight to a light- Weight fiber board carton, weighing only about one-tenth of the net contents, and is more effective and economical, affording a high degree of protection against loss of the contents and being capable of repeated use over long periods.

A fmther object of the invention is to provide a folding type of packer which may be used to tightly enclose a body or plurality of bodies of dry ice in compact relation, and which may be folded or compacted into a comparatively small bundle of extremely small weight, after use as a shipping package, whereby return of the empty packer for reuse is facilitated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible-walled container in which a body or bodies of dry ice may be packed, such container being of sufficient flexibility so as to lend itself to deformation into close engagement with the dry ice in the packing operation whereby gas spaces within the container are substantially wholly eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packer of the character described, which con-- sists at least in part of a somewhat resilient packing and heat-insulating structure which is adapted to be compressed into fairly close engagement with the body of refrigerant in normal use,

and which will expand to some extent as the refrigerant evaporates so that the close engagement will be maintained between the insulating member and the refrigerant in spite of a nominal loss in size of the refrigerant body due to evaporal tion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a packer of the class described provided with an inner flexible heat-insulating structure and an outer flexible container structure of a water-re- 10 sistant and substantially gas-impervious nature, whereby a contained body of volatile refrigerant material may be protected against access of moisture, heat, and detrimental convection circulation of air.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of base member adapted to receive and support a iiexible packer of the character described, which will provide for adequate insulation of the packer against loss of the contents by heat, and which Will facilitate handling of the packer in shipment, both as a package of dry ice en route to the consignee and as a returned packer en route to the shipper.

The device of the present invention consists, essentially, of a flexible outer container member provided with a removable lid, and ilexible insulating inner container means, preferably in the form of one or more pads, adapted to be folded about a body of the refrigerant in close engagement therewith and to be maintained in such folded condition by the confining action of the outer container. In its preferred embodiment', the device also includes a rigid supporting base, preferably in the form of a wheeled flat truck or dolly member, in supporting relation to the packaged body of refrigerant, whereby handling of the packaged body is facilitated.

Other objects of the invention will be brought out in the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment thereof, or will be apparent from such description. The accompanying drawings illustrate such embodiment, and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a partly sectional planY view of the dolly member of the present invention, which may be employed in association with the packer, taken on line l-l in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional side elevation thereof taken on line 2 2 in` Fig. 1; 50

Fig, 2a is an enlarged scale detail of a portion thereof taken on line Zat- 2a in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a downwardly directed perspective View of the flexible outer container portion of they packer;

Fig. 4 is a corresponding view of a lid or cap member for the package;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the dolly member showing, in section, the external container portion of the packer in position thereupon, adapted to receive the internal pad means and the body of refrigerant;

Figs. 6 through 13 illustrate the progressive steps employed in packaging a plurality of blocks of dry ice in the container of the present invention;

Fig. 14 is a transverse section of a completed package with the base member in elevation; and

Fig. l5 is a horizontal section of one corner of the completed package, taken at a position corresponding to that shown at Ill-I5 in Fig. 13.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 through 14, the packer is shown as comprising an outer container I provided with an open upper end I I and flexible side walls I2. The bottom wall of this container may be made of a rigid material, if desired, although for the purpose of simplicity of construction, the lower wall is conveniently made of the same flexible material from which the side walls I2 are formed, such as waterproofed canvas, duck, or other suitable flexible fabric. A slip-on lid member I3 is provided, of such size and shape as to slip down over the open upper end II of the container I after the manner shown more particularly in Fig. l2, and said lid may be made of the same flexible material as the container I0. Some form of rigid supporting base is preferably provided for the device, in order to facilitate handling of the package, in view of the fact that Where the device isused to pack a large number of blocksof dry ice, the weight of the completed package will be rather great, wherefore some form of support is desirable in order that the package may be moved about in the normal handling procedure. A convenient form of base is illustrated in Fig. 5, comprising a platform I provided with caster wheels 2. This form of base is more particularly described hereinafter in connection with Figs. 1 through 2a.

Where the device is to be used in packaging a plurality of blocks of dry ice, the proportions of the container I are conveniently established so that the final package is substantially cubical in shape, wherefore a cubical mass of aggregated blocks of the individual bodies of refrigerant may be packed; for simplicity of description, the package of the present invention will be hereinafter considered to be of this substantially cubical shape, although it will be understood that the package is not necessarily of cubical shape and that the vertical and horizontal dimensions are not necessarily equal. Also, while the blocks are shown as arranged in several layers containing a Luiiform number of blocks, it will be understood that this regular arrangement is not essential; for example, the top layer may contain a smaller number of blocks than the other layers. The generally cubical shape is preferred, primarily from the standpoint of the adaptability of the packer to the packaging of a lesser number of blocks than that represented by the full cubical shape. For example, one, two, or three layers of blocks could be packed in the container, according to the particular requirements of a shipment. In thisrconnection, the hereinafter described exible packing material or pads will surround the contained refrigerant material in various degrees of overlap, dependent upon the actual size of the refrigerant body being packaged in relatiorito the total or maximum size of refrigerant body which the packer is adapted to receive.

In use, the container I0 is placed upon the base I after the manner shown in Fig. 5, with the side walls I2 thereof folded downwardly about the outer edges of the container so as to provide a shallow pan-shaped arrangement. Suitable inner pad members are provided, each of said inner pad members comprising an elongated strip of flexible insulating packing material of a yielding or resilient nature, such as a fabric casing lled with kapok, cotton, or other comparable insulating material. The inner pad members are hereinafter referred to as pads and are preferably of such length as to completely wrap around the finished body of packed refrigerant, and of sufficient Width to extend along one side of the finished body and overlap the corners to a considerable extent.

The outer container I0 is placed on the platform I of the base as above described and two of the above-described pads, indicated at I4 and I5, are laid across the open upper end of the container I0 after the manner shown in Fig. 6. The pads are crowded down into the bottom of the container lil, so as to receive the blocks of dry ice, and one layer of blocks of dry ice or the like is placed in position upon and partially within the pads and container, after the manner shown in Fig. '7. The respective pads I4 and I5 are tucked in around the corners of the layer of blocks I6 as at I5', and the pads I4 and I5 and the side walls I2 of the container are then pulled up about the blocks I6 to remove all wrinkles and folds from the lower end of the container, into a shape such as that shown in Fig. 8.

The side walls of container I0 are then again folded downwardly, after which the pads I4 and I 5 are laid out to the sides, leaving the top of the layer I6 exposed, as shown in Fig. 9, and two more layers of blocks are then placed on top of the layer I6, as shown at II and I8 in Fig. 10. The ends of pads I4 and I5 are then laid over the top of the cubical mass of blocks formed by the three layers I6, I'I, and I8, in overlapping relation, and the edge portions of the pads are tucked in upon one another so as to thoroughly enclose the corner portions of the cubical mass of refrigerant. The pads I4 and I5 are of such width that the corner portions overlap one another to a considerable extent, both laterally and vertically. The lateral overlapping is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 15, wherein the edges of the pads I4 and I5 are seen to overlap adjacent the center line of the refrigerant body. The vertical overlapping is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 14, wherein substantially the same degree of overlap is shown. The extent of overlap is obviously subject to considerable variation, but it is my preference that at least a double layer of insulating pads will be provided for substantially the whole surface of the refrigerant body where a two-pad arrangement is employed, in order that the individual pads may be thin enough to facilitate the packing procedure, and a double thickness will be adequate to provide the degree of heat insulation'necessary for the time required for a reasonably long shipment. It will be apparent that when a lesser number of blocks is enclosed in the packer, the extent of overlap Will be greater than that shown in the drawings.

It will be noted that the container I0 is provided with a plurality of eyelets I9 about the upper rim or edge portion thereof, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, and a suitable tie member 2 I, such as a ropeor the like, is threaded through theseeyelets criss-cross fashion across the top of the lapped upper ends of the pads,.as indicated at 2U in Fig. 11, thoroughly tying the pads in place within the outer container, and holding the side walls I2 up in proper position. The cover I3 is then placed over the upper end of the container I0, as shown particularly in Fig. l2, and a suitable tie member 22, such as a rope, strap, or the like, is then employed to strap the cover I3 in place and hold the body of the package securely in position on the top of the base member, as shown` in Fig. 13. The member 22 may be placed in position in any desired fashion, although I have found it preferable to loop it under the corners of base I in back of the caster wheels 2 as at 23 and then intersecure the upper ends of the loops as shown at 24 in Fig. 13.

In its finished condition, the package comprises an assembly of blocks of refrigerant, indicated generally at F in Fig. 14 and constituting a body of refrigerant, surrounded in one direction by the pad I4 and in the otherdirection by the pad I5, the edge portions and upper or free ends of the respective pads being overlapped upon one another after the manner shown at Illa, I4b, and I 5a, |511, and the cover I3 being drawn down about the overlapped end portions of such pads. The tie member 22 serves the combined purpose of keeping the cover IS in place, compacting the pads about the blocks of dry ice, and holding the package firmly in position upon the base I. When thus assembled, the outer containerIll and cover I3.constitute a weather-proof protective outer enclosure means, both the container and the cover being preferably formed of substantially gas-impervious and water-proof material, such as above mentioned.

It will be appreciated that substantially any type of base member may be provided, although I preferably employ a base member which is provided with caster means such as that shown at 2 in Fig. 5, and it is also desirable that the base member be of a construction which will prevent undue conduction of heat tothe bottom of the package. Itwill be appreciated that the body of refrigerant will be quite heavy, which tends to compact the pads along the lower or bottom wall of the container I ll, thereby decreasing the thermal insulating value of the contained insulator material, and, to some eX- tent, rendering the heat-insulation value of the pads less at the base portion of the device` than at the side walls and top where the pads are very slightly compressed.

A suitable insulating base construction may be provided as shown in Figs.` 1 through 2a, in which a rectangular or square frame is provided through the agency of angle irons 3 welded together at their corners as at 3a and preferably provided with integrally secured gusset plates at the corners as shown at 3b. A bottom wall member is provided as at il, which may comprise a layer of veneer such as a three-ply board, the outer edges of which rest on the horizontal legs 3c of the angles 3. A suitable holding strip is extended around the inner periphery of the frame provided by theangles 3, as shown at 5, above the bottom wall Il,A and is conveniently held in position by a plurality of wood screws 5a extending through the hori- Zontal legs 3c of said angles.

The insulating means provided for the base member of the present disclosure is shown as cementitious layer 6a above.

composite in nature, consisting in part of a solid insulating material such as that commercially obtainable under the `trade nalne Insulite and in part of a fibrous material such as the vegetable fiber which may be obtained under the name of kapok. The solid insulating material is preferably disposed around the inner periphery of theframe and across the center, in loa-d-bearing relation to the upper or top wall member of the device as` hereinafter described, and may be fitted over `the holding strip 5 as shown more particularly in Fig. 2a. The solid insulating material is indicated at 6, and is preferably secured to the bottom wall member 4 and the holding strip 5 through the agency i of a layer of asphaltic or other cement as indicated at Ba.

The space between the outer section of the insulating material E and the center section 6b is lled with the above-mentioned kapok, as shown at 'I, whereby a substantially continuous insulating body is obtained across the face of the base member. An upper wall member 8 is provided, comparable to the lower wall member 4, and formed of three-ply vboard or the like, and the solid insulator material 6 is preferably recessed as shown at 6c to receive the thickness of the upper wall member and provide a peripheral body of insulator surrounding the lateral edges of the wall member 8, as-at 6d, to decrease lateral conduction lof heat to the bottom of the packer. A layer of asphaltic Vor other cementitious material may be provided as at 8o between the wall member 8 and the body E, corresponding to the In order to more securely hold the upper wall member 8 in position, and to provide some protection for the upper exposed surface of the portion 6d of the body of solid insulator material 6, I preferably provide a marginal protection layer of canvas or other suitable fabric as shown at 9, secured to the outerv edges of the upper surface of the wall member 8 as by means of tacks or the like 9a and extending over the upper surface of the solid insulator 6 and downwardly along the opstanding leg 3d of the angles 3 and underneath `the lower wall member 4. This canvas strip is conveniently installed when the lower wall member 4 and its associated structure are placed in position within the frame provided by the angles 3, andis securely held in` place at the bottom, between the leg 3c and the holding strip 5 by the clamping action of the screws 5a.

The provision of insulating material extending around the outer edges of the upper wall member 8, as at 6d, serves to decrease lateral heatconduction to the lower surface of the body of refrigerant, inasmuch as the veneer wall member is not particularly effective as an insulating material at the low temperatures encountered in use with dry ice.

Suitable caster wheels are provided as at 2, conveniently secured to the gusset plates 3b as through the agency of bolts or rivets, for the purpose of facilitating the handling of a loaded packer, and in this connection, two of the casters on adjacent corners may be made of the swivel type,` and the remaining two casters may be made of the fixed type, as indicated at 2a and 2b, respectively, inv Fig. 14.

The provision of a wheeled truck or dolly member for support of the package is of material advantage in handling, inasmuch as the package, as assembled, is not a rigid structure such as would be'obtained by a box-like shipping container of lll conventional construction. 'Ihe rigid type of structure is disadvantageous from the standpoint of its inflexibility (in that the insulating material is not able to closely surround the refrigerant body during progressive decrease in size of said body upon evaporation thereof), and further, the rigid type is disadvantageous from the standpoint of withstanding the shocks due to movement ol` the refrigerant blocks within the container as the container is subjected to move` ment under handling in shipment. The present form of packer, being flexible, is able to accommodate itself to changing size of the contained refrigerant, and is sufficiently exible as to "give under the shock of movement of the contained blocks. This flexibility is of such character as to render the handling of the package quite diflicult under ordinary circumstances, but the provision of a rigid supporting base member to which the package is rmly bound, enables the package to be handled with facility, and the further provision of caster members or the like upon the base member makes it convenient to push-the package from place to place in handling, Without making it necessary to apply excessive force by way of thrust or pressure against the packer. Thus, the entire assembly may be moved'without danger of displacing any parts of the packer or the conf, as shown in Fig. 6, for example) will be greater than the total external area of the body of solid refrigerant, Wherefore the pad (or pads, as the case may be) may be employed to fold about and completely cover and enclose the surface or external area of the refrigerant body, in an overlapping relation.

As brought out hereinbefore, the pads I4 and I5 are normally compacted about the body of solid refrigerant, and during minor losses in the refrigerant due to evaporation, the pads will swell or expand to some extent so that the close contact thereof with the body will be preserved to some degree. Where the packer is employed for the shipment of a material such as dry ice for an exceptionally great distance, it may be desirable to form the tie members 22 of elastic material, at least in part, wherefore the above-mentioned close engagement is maintained in spite of significant loss in volume by the refrigerant mass.

'I'he several elements of the packer may be returned to the shipper in a compact form, by folding the pad members into a small bundle, together with the outer enclosure and the cover, and tying the same in place upon the base member through the agency of the tie member 22. The pad members may be folded into place Within the enclosure or container IIJ, and then the cover I 3 placed over the compacted bundle, and the whole unit then of the structure are kept together as a unit and shipped at a minimum expense,

Certain modifications in the various components of the structure will be apparent to those` skilled in the art, and I do not choose to be limited to the specic constructions herein set forth, but rather to the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A packer for solid refrigerants, which comprises: inner exible pad means having heat-insulating characteristics, said pad means being of greater area than the total external area of the body of refrigerant to be packed, and having portions adapted to be folded about-said body in overlapping relation; an open-ended outer hexible enclosure member adapted to receive said inner pad means and the contained refrigerant body; tie means secured to said enclosure member and engaging said pad means at the open end of said enclosure member to maintain said portions in said overlapping relation at said open end; and a removable cover means adapted to enclose the open end of said enclosure means.

2. A packer as set forth in claim 1, said pad means comprising tWo separate elongated pad members disposed transversely with respect to one another, the respective ends of said separate pad members being positioned to fold about opposite sides of such refrigerant body and overlap upon one another across the upper surface of such body.

3. A packer as set forth in claim l, the area of said pad means being suiiiciently greater than the area of said refrigerant body as to provide such an overlap of said portions as to form at least two layers of pad means between the refrigerant body and said outer enclosure member.

4. A packer for solid refrigerants, which comprises: a heat-insulating supporting base member; a flexible enclosure member having an open upper end and disposed on said base member; inner flexible, heat-insulating pad means disposed within said enclosure member and having portions adapted to extend upwardly along the side walls of said enclosure member to dene a material-receiving space Within which a body of refrigerant may be disposed, said portions of said pad means being of greater length than said side walls and adapted to overlap upon one another across the upper surface of such body of refrigerant; tie means secured to said enclosure member in position to engage said overlapping portions of said pad means at said open end and maintain such portions in said overlapping relation; and tie means securing said enclosure member to said base member.

5. A packer as set forth in claim 4, and comprising in addition, removable cover means for said open end of said enclosure member, and said last-named tie means being adapted to en-r gage said cover means to secure the same in position.

6. A packer as set forth in claim 4, said pad means comprising two separate elongated pad members disposed transversely with respect to one another and overlapping at the lower end of said enclosure member, the respective end portions of said separate pad members constituting said first-named pad portions.

'7. A packer as set forth in claim 4, said pad means comprising two separate elongated pad members disposed transversely with respect to one another and overlapping at the lower end of said enclosure member, the respective end portions of said separate pad members constituting said rstnamed pad portions, and said packer comprising in addition removable cover means for said open end of said enclosure member, and said lastnamed tie means being adapted to engage said cover means to secure the same in position.

8. A packer for solid refrigerants, which comprises: inner flex-ible pad means having heat-insulating characteristics, said pad means being of greater area than the total external area of the body of refrigerant to be packed, and having portions adapted to be folded about said body in overlapping relation; an open-ended outer exible enclosure member adapted to receive said inner pad means and the contained refrigerant body; a removable cover means adapted to enclose the open end of said enclosure means; a substantially rigid, heat-insulating base member for supporting said pad means and said body; and tie means engaging said cover means for securing said pad means and said body to said base member.

9. A packer for solid reirigerants, which comprises: inner eXible pad means having heat-insulating characteristics, said pad means being of greater area than the total external area of the body of refrigerant to be packed, and having portions adapted to be folded about said body in overlapping relation; an outer flexible enclosure member adapted to receive said inner pad means and the contained refrigerant body to maintain said portions in said overlapping relation; a Wheeled, substantially rigid, heat-insulating base member positioned to support said pad means and the contained refrigerant body; and tie means for securing said pad means and said contained body to said base member.

HARRY S. HOUGHTON. 

